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From: vicc@ucc.su.oz.au (Vic Cinc)
Subject: Re: Is CONSCIOUSNESS continuous? discrete? quantized?
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Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 03:33:04 GMT
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Alan Tonisson (tonisson@ozemail.com.au) wrote:
: vicc@ucc.su.oz.au (Vic Cinc) wrote:
: > Tom E.J. Gruintjes (grintjes@sci.kun.nl) wrote:
: > : You wrote :
: > : "if consciousness is an epiphenomena of the brains neural net. then what
: > : is so special about this bit of software that make it conscious
: > : and the software under silicon apparently not?"
: > 
[snip]
: > : So in fact your analogy silicon vs. brain doesn't hold for solving the
: > : conscious-problem, to my opinion.
: > 
: > it doesnt follow that consciousness is simply modifying the undeneath
: > hardware. a computer program changes its state continuesly as well.
: > just because the neural net is in a state of flux, doesnt make the conditions
: > for consciousness.
: > 
: > Vic

: How can we know that silicon isn't conscious?  Some Eastern religions
: maintain that all matter has degrees of consciousness.

while this is an interesting point of view, what does it mean??
and more to the point how can we tell?

Vic

--
 Vic Cinc ASDC pty ltd    vicc@extro.ucc.su.oz.au
 GPO Box 1660 Sydney NSW 2001 AUSTRALIA

"Civilization does not mean electric lights being installed.
 It does not mean producing atomic bombs either.
 Civilization means not killing people." Nichidatsu Fujii

